With the increasing population and pollution, creating sustainable and eco-conscious communities has become a need of the hour. More and more people are demanding greener communities that not only benefit them in terms of better physical and mental health but are friendly for their environment as well.
In this article, we will see how sustainable communities are building an eco-consious environment for our future generations. You can get insights from Michael Hershman as well. He is an industry expert who assists transparency and accountability in various matters.
What are Sustainable Communities?
Sustainable communities refer to the building of a mindful environment that is green, uses renewable energy sources, conserves water, and supports local businesses. In broader terms, a sustainable community is a community of happy people who collaborate for the betterment of their lives and the world.
The sustainable community is not all about the housing community. Rather, it corresponds to a healthy workspace, sustainable real estate and farms as well. These communities seek collaborative awareness and focus on the long-term vision to create a healthy ecosystem.
What Practices are Followed by Sustainable Communities?
Here are the ways you can create a sustainable community by following their core practices:
- Conserve Water and Collect Rain Water
Sustainable communities know the value of water, and that’s why they focus on conserving water. With the increase in population and urbanization, water resources are getting populated with chemicals, fertilizers, industrial waste, and municipal waste. In this scenario, conserving water has become an utmost priority. Sustainable communities focus on this; they preach that industrial waste should not be discarded directly into canals, rivers, and oceans; instead, it should be treated to make it less toxic before disposal.
Sustainable communities collect rainwater as well because it is beneficial for usage. They focus on collecting rainwater in dams as it is used in irrigation and electricity production. On a small level, drinking rainwater helps detoxify the body and promote healthy digestion.
- Reduce the Consumption of Goods and Waste Generation
Every manufacturing industry is introducing new goods and products to us, but sustainable communities focus on minimizing the consumption of goods as it only leads to the generation of waste. The waste, in return, pollutes our natural resources. Moreover, the generation of goods and products needs a lot of resources, resulting in deforestation, which is not beneficial to our earth.
- Prioritize Public Transport
Sustainable communities prioritize public transport rather than individual transport. When we are focused on using public transport for our daily travel, it requires fewer resources and emits less number of greenhouse gases. Unfortunately, these days, greenhouse gases have increased dramatically in our environment, which has shifted weather patterns and caused more global warming.
- Less Use of Fossil Fuels
Fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and gas are serving about 80% of our energy needs. These fossil fuels are depleting with time, and it is estimated that we will be completely deprived of our resources if we continue to use them at the present pace. Fossil fuels are used to generate heat in our homes, run vehicles, and used in manufacturing industries.
Sustainable communities are focusing on developing alternatives to fossil fuels to protect our resources and climate.
- Use Renewable Energy Sources
Instead of using fossil fuels to generate energy, sustainable communities focus on using renewable energy sources such as sunlight, water, biomass, wind, and tides. These natural energy sources are renewable and eco-conscious. Sustainable communities have become successful in raising awareness of these energy sources. Many of our industries and homes are using these sources to generate electricity etc.
- Produce Organic Vegetables and Fruits
The biggest threat to our reservoirs of soil and water is the use of fertilizers, pesticides, and other chemicals in growing fruits and vegetables. Although these chemicals have been able to generate large amounts of food, it has caused severe damage to human health. Cancer has become prevalent due to the presence of phosphorous present in the fertilizers, which enters our bloodstream and causes serious health issues. Hence, sustainable communities focus on growing organic fruits and vegetables to promote healthy lifestyles.
Environmental Efforts and Sustainability in Santa Monica
The city of Santa Monica is a perfect example of its commitment to eco-friendliness. It has transited to using sustainable cleaning products, use of recycled objects, and re-redefined motor oil and antifreeze for eco-friendly automotive maintenance.
Conclusion
This article has listed all the attributes of a sustainable community, and you can become a member of it, too, by following all the above practices. Focus on conserving water and fossil fuels, reducing waste generation, producing organic vegetables, and many more. Moreover, you can educate others in your community to follow this mission.
